Africa Mosaic Arizona Daily Star 9/10/04 A fund-raiser Sept. 18 will give Tucsonans a look at fashions from various countries in Africa By Rhonda Bodfield Bloom photo: kalani_091004.jpg Cynthia Guldberg, far left, Gbenga Fatogun and Kalani McDonald model African clothing. Africa in Tucson You can get a sample of African culture without leaving Tucson. The African Mosaique Preview will be held from 6:30 p.m. until 12:30 a.m. Sept. 18 at Sabbar Temple Hall, 450 S. Tucson Blvd. The preview will feature African food and drink, live performers and music, including reggae, juju, soukous and fuji. Tickets cost $25 and $15 for students or seniors. Purchase tickets at Malkia World Art, 2924 E. Broadway, next to Austin's Ice Cream, or call 884-7494 for more information. Tokie Kehinde, an administrator, hasn't seen much in the way of African fashion on the streets of Tucson in her six weeks here. But that doesn't stop her from wearing a traditional boubou (pronounced boo-boo), a straight, loose gown with origins in Senegal. Or from wearing a wraparound skirt, called an iro (pronounced eero), from her homeland of Nigeria. "I wear it to church," she said, "and people love it. They like to see something a little different." And that's the theory behind the African Mosaique Preview, which will be held Sept. 18. Tucsonans have had exposure to African art and African dance, particularly through the dance and music series brought here by UApresents, and to a lesser degree, from the influx of refugees from Sudan and Somalia. But African fashions are another matter altogether, often hidden or simply overlooked in a land dominated by T-shirts and hip-hugger jeans. So the preview - whetting the appetite for a larger show to come to Tucson in January - will feature not only the more familiar African music and dancing, but lesser-known food and fashion as well. Kehinde, who will help cook for the event, said she makes a mean dodo, or fried plantain dish, and jollof rice, which is a rice dish colored with tomato. Organizer Kwevi Quaye, who hails from Africa but has lived in Tucson for more than 20 years, said it's important for him to show Tucsonans the Africa he has experienced, not only in his homeland of Nigeria but in his travels throughout the continent. He considers every country in Africa his home, and Tucson his second home. He's trying to bring them together with the show. "I want people to see Africa in a positive way because I've seen my country in a positive way all my life. Africa is not the only place that struggles with war and poverty and starvation. Even America struggles with some of those issues. So I want people to start seeing beyond those things and see the beauty of Africa," he said. Africa is a huge continent, so it's no surprise its styles vary widely. Victoria Soremekun, 43, a Nigerian who has lived in Tucson 10 years and owns the Midtown Eko Market Place, modeled a maroon and gold iro, complete with a top called a buba, a shoulder scarf and head tie. photo: soremekun.jpg In her culture, she would wear that outfit to occasions like weddings and housewarmings. Here, she might wear it to monthly meetings she attends with other members of the Yoruba tribe living in Tucson. She doesn't mind standing out. "I'm proud of my culture and I want to share it," she said. Cynthia Guldberg, a nurse and jewelry designer, wears her Nigerian dresses because of their fashion elements, as opposed to a cultural connection. The colors are vibrant, bright yellow or burnt orange, and the loose cut is comfortable. She loves to dress up, she said, and she's not afraid to take matters into her own hands when tying the head scarf: "I can do it the Cynthia way, even if I don't know the Nigerian way." When you think African fashion, you might think of kente cloth, a woven fabric from Ghana with unique patterns. But African fashions don't have to be so traditional. In fact, there's a shift from African designs being viewed as simply exotic or ethnic prints, as international designers begin to show more diverse interpretations of African fashion. Kalani McDonald, a 29-year-old administrator for an investment firm, started wearing African dress as a costume for her dance performances. But she soon learned to appreciate the dress, like the lime green version she wears with origins from the Ivory Coast, for other reasons. "Even if you don't feel confident or brave enough to wear traditional African clothing around Tucson, there are contemporary designers that integrate African elements with more Western design," she said. Of the 50 fashion-designer shows that were unveiled during London Fashion Week last September, designers Jasper Conran and Ronit Zilkha based their latest collections on African themes, with geometric patterned dresses and earthy colors with natural accessories. Jay Semel, the director of the The University of Iowa's Obermann Center for Advanced Studies, learned about African fashion in a 2002 symposium held at the center. "What you find is that contemporary Western fashion influences African fashion and the reverse is especially true: That African fashion has influenced couture here in Western industrial societies," Semel said from his office in Iowa City. "You can see that in fabrics and colors and motifs," he said, adding they're not only on display on the runway, but even in mass-market retailers who get ideas from Paris. Tucsonans may have a chance to see that sophisticated interplay for themselves. The African Mosaique show, which Quaye anticipates will come to Tucson early next year, has played on runways in Paris, New York City, Atlanta and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The show was founded by international model Anna Getaneh, an Ethiopian, who uses it as a fund-raising vehicle for the Ethiopian Children's Fund, which supports orphanages and health care for children in Ethiopia. Quaye sits on the nonprofit's board, along with bankers, entrepreneurs and professors from Johannesburg to New York to Princeton, which is why the show will play in Tucson - not typically known for its fashion runways. Meanwhile, you can still find African fashion in Tucson. Maggie Johnson, owner of Malkia World Art, 2924 E. Broadway, has racks of traditional fashions, like a dark indigo tie-dyed outfit, and more upscale pieces with an African flair. Many of them are by Paris-trained African designer Akuavi Slater, with two-piece ensembles in fabrics like silk, Italian lace and linen. Egyptian beaded scarves for $135 are versatile ways of complementing formal wear or dressing up casual outfits. She wears the clothes herself, she said, in part because the fabrics are cool in the desert heat and in part because she's a walking advertisement for her store. Gbenga (pronounced with a silent "g") Fatogun, a 23-year-old engineer who left Nigeria in 2000, wears nine different outfits from his home country around town. He said he'd like more Tucsonans to learn about his culture, which is why the upcoming preview is such a great opportunity. "If they don't come, there's no way they'll learn more about African culture." There's an advantage, too, he said, with wearing African dress, such as the light blue and white embroidered outfit he modeled for this story. "People usually want to stop and talk to me. I get a nice reception when I wear it." Then, he added, laughing, "And I get a lot of phone numbers, too." Other photos: bangle.jpg necklace.jpg ashoke.jpg mudcloth.jpg